Battle it Out
by StrawChan
Summary: Cierra is a new trainer in the land of Sinnoh. Together with her mudkip, Kippy, and a few friends, she wants to become the best trainer and coordinator the land has ever seen.
1. Prologue

The girl on the bed squeezed her eyes together in her sleep as she turned over once more. Her reddish waist length brown hair was draped across her off-white sheets. She had one hand stuffed underneath the pillow her head was on and her other arm wrapped around a second pillow.

Outside her house, a boy sighed as he watched her sleep. The moon over Mossdeep was so large and bright that the ocean around the island seemed to be glowing. In the distance, a wailmer shot a stream of water into the air and then submerged.

"Yo, Jun! Watching Cierra sleep again?" A second boy asked as he strolled past the house. Jun jumped before the owner of the voice continued, "Who do you think you are? Edward Freaking Cullen?"

"Haha." Jun laughed sarcastically and stood up, rubbing the back of his blond head. He was wearing a green and black striped scarf, despite the fact that the island he lived on was quite warm, even at night.

"Seriously, man, could you be more of a stalker?"

"I'm not stalking her. It's just that…she's leaving tomorrow."

"Dude, we're all going to miss her. Get a grip."

Jun just sighed again and shook his head.

******

"Aw, come on. Why are you leaving?" Jun whined. He was perched on the same bed he had been looking at the night before while Cierra sat on the floor stuffing things into a black and purple backpack.

"Kip! Kip!" The mudkip beside her said.

"I already told you, Jun." Cierra said. Now that it was day, she had a pair of red square framed glasses on.

"Enlighten me." Cierra groaned and then whipped her head around to look at him. Jun flinched.

"Because I've lived here my entire life, watching people lose to the twins. I mean, sure, the one guy beat them, but no one else has."

"Who better than you to beat them? You've watched them fight for 13 years!"

"I want something new, Jun. Something different."

"But we were going to travel together!"

"Says who?" Cierra demanded, "I don't remember ever agreeing to such a thing."

"Gah!" Jun exclaimed. He jumped off the bed and walked agitatedly toward the window, "It was an assumption."

"Jun, you are so irritating."

"I'm your best friend!"

"You are not. You're just my irritating rival." Jun groaned.

"You need a rival. Didn't that Ash guy have a rival?"

"…No, I don't think he did." Cierra stood up and swung her backpack over one shoulder, "Come on, Kippy."

"Mudkip! Mud!" Kippy barked. Cierra held out a pokeball and, one shot of red light later, the small mudfish pokemon had disappeared.

"Later." Cierra said nonchalantly. She didn't wait for Jun to respond before she walked out the door.

"Wait!" Jun shouted. He tore out of the small house just as Cierra was beginning to board the boat outside the island. Cierra turned around.

"What?"

"I'll…I'll miss you."Cierra's expression softened for a split second before she replaced it with a glare.

`"Yeah, what will you do with your nights when you aren't watching me like the pervert you are?"

"Erk!" Cierra turned around and walked onto the boat.

Jun watched as the boat whistled once and began to sail away, off to Sinnoh.

"Tree?" asked the Treeko that had been standing quietly by his side.

"She just thinks she got away from us, huh? Well, look out world! Sinnoh is going to have two new trainers!"


	2. Vs Charizard

_Um...Hi! And thanks for reading my story! I realize that these should go under author's notes, but, uh, I haven't figured out exactly where I'm supposed to go to that. Sorry! ^^:  
Please feel free to message me somehow and tell me._

Before I go any farther, I wanted to say that Jun (from the prologue) is in fact based off the rival for the 4th generation games and I do not own him.

_I also don't own Roran. He belongs to my good friend shinypikachu2608 on Deviantart. _

_I also do not own Pokemon.  
_

Cierra was already on the top of the deck when the ship's deep horn sounded. While the rest of the passengers going from Hoenn to Sinnoh rushed to the top of the ship, the brunette released her mudkip. The pair of them listened to the excited chatter as the landmass ahead grew larger and larger.  
Finally, the boat docked. Cierra stepped off and waited for the crowd to disperse. Kippy occupied himself by barking and chasing his tail fin until the crowd was mostly gone. Cierra took this opportunity to as the captain how to get to Jublife City.  
"Just go in that direction until you see a bridge," the man answered, pointing down the street, "Go across, go down, turn left, and go through the check point. You'll need a surf HM, though."  
Cierra nodded and started moving in the direction he had indicated. Kippy chased his fin for a few more seconds before running after his trainer.  
"Canaclave is a lot bigger than Mossdeep, huh, Kippy?" Cierra asked as her Pokémon appeared at her heels.  
"Kip Kip!" The late afternoon sun was tinting the city burnt orange. Cierra walked past a parade of people, most with steelixes. A gym came into view, but she ignored it, knowing that Canaclave's was the sixth. Several people from the ship passed her in a boat, headed for a small island in the distance, and several fishermen were lounging around, watching their fish Pokémon thrash in the water. Kippy, used to seeing only wailmers and sharpedos, bounded towards a turquoise fish, but received only a hard spay in the face for his trouble.  
Cierra found the bridge with relative easy, but had to wait for it to come back down after letting another group of tourists back into the city after their jaunt to Iron Island. A pair of boys was happily arguing over which of them got to train their new graveller first.  
The other side of the town was a little quieter. An old inn caught Cierra's eye and she ran towards it, eagerly thinking she might be able to stay in Canaclave for the night instead of rushing on to the next town. She was disappointed to find that its door was locked and the windows were covered in dust.  
"Kip?"  
"Guess we've got no choice. We'll have to go to Jublife. Better hurry, though. It's getting dark."  
"Mud! Kip!"  
"They set off again, this time with a bit more urgency in their step. Eventually, Cierra remember the warning that she'd need a surf HM to get where she wanted to go, so when the blue-roofed Pokemart appeared in front of them, she went in.  
Like most Pokemarts, it was small inside. The walls were painted off-white and one was covered in glass-fronted refrigerators. The two other costumers were milling around the sale baskets in the middle. Cierra ignored them all and walked up to the front counter.  
"May I help you?" The boy at the counter couldn't have been much older than Cierra- 14 or 15 at the most. He was blond and was wearing a blue polo and combat trousers underneath his Pokemart apron. A capture stylus was at his waist.  
"I'm not sure." Cierra said with a frown, "I need to get to Jublife. You have any surf HMs?"  
"What?" The boy asked, his voice shaking with suppressed laughter, "An HM? What do we look like?" He finally broke down and roared with laughter.  
"A place that sells things." Cierra said testily, "And I want to pay." The boy stopped laughing.  
"Really? How much you got?"  
"1,000 pokedollars."  
"Be right back!" The boy disappeared.  
"…" said Kippy and Cierra as they caught each other's eye. A few seconds later, the blond came back, grinning ear to ear. He waved a plastic bag in the air and then handed it over to her.  
"Okay, one surf HM! That'll be 1,000 pokedollars."  
Cierra raised an eyebrow and slid the object out of the bag. It was a silver-blue disk with a large crack in it that had been badly mended with tape. She lifted it high enough that the boy could see it.  
"For this piece of crap?"  
"Take it or leave it."  
"I've got a better idea. Let's battle for it."  
"Huh…the terms?"  
"I win, you get me to Jublife."  
"And if I win?"  
"I give you all my money for nothing." She held out her hand.  
The boy paused and surveyed the hand before grinning and shaking it.  
"You've got a deal, mudkip girl."

******

It was really sun set now. The red disk on the horizon was turning the sea to blood. Cierra was leaning against a light post near the bridge, waiting for the shop boy. A small crowd of people had gathered and were looking excited at the prospect of a battle. One broke away and asked her for her name and then disappeared once more inside it.  
"Yo! Mudkip girl!" The boy's voice came from above. Everyone looked up to see the blond, perched on the back of a charizard. It landed and the boy got off, grinning cockily at his opponent.  
"Isn't it against the ranger code to use capture stylused Pokémon in a trainer battle?" Cierra asked coolly. The boy's smile widened. He held up a pokeball.  
"Charizard here was my starter."  
"Kip?!"  
"Charizard."  
Cierra paused. She hadn't counted on him having such a high level Pokémon. She took a deep breath and looked back at the blond. Her glasses flashed in the dimming light.  
"Ready mudkip?"  
"Mudkip!"  
The watcher that had ask for her name ran to the space in between mudkip and charizard.  
"Roran vs. Cierra- one on one battle! Begin!"  
He ran out again and just in time. Almost immediately after he had left, Roran shouted:  
"Charizard! Take down!" and the bulky lizard had lunged at mudkip. Mudkip tried to dodge, but failed, and was sent skidding into the crowd. Cierra winced, but there was no time to feel sorry. As mudkip stumbled back into the arena, Roran attacked again.  
"Now fly!"  
The enormous wings shot upwards and charizard rocketed into the sky.  
"Get ready, mudkip!" Cierra cried desperately. Mudkip shook himself.  
"Now, get 'im, charizard!"  
"Hold on, mudkip!"  
Charizard hurtled towards mudkip, whose dark eyes were filled with determination. Just as contact was about to be made, Cierra made her move:  
"Jump!"  
Mudkip soared into the air. Charizard turned around, but his prey was not there either.  
"Zard?"  
"Kip! Kip!"  
Charizard turned his head. Mudkip was perched on his shoulder.  
"Water gun, Mudkip!"  
Charizard roared as the stream of cold water smacked his face. He thrashed about, but mudkip held on.  
"How is he doing that?" Roran shouted, frustrated.  
"Mud bomb." Cierra answered.  
"But ground moves don't work on fire types!"  
"Mudkip didn't use it on charizard. He used to glue his feet to charizard's skin." Roran frowned.  
"Use the ground, charizard!"  
Charizard nodded and flipped over. His back crashed into the ground, taking mudkip with it.  
"Now tail whip!"  
"Dodge, Kippy!"  
Kippy tried, but the massive tail hit him anyway. He squealed.  
"Water gun!"  
Mudkip sent another steam of water at the lizard, but it dodged.  
"RUN!"  
Mudkip turned around and headed in the opposite direction.  
"Flame thrower, Charizard!"  
A steam of flame chased the smaller mudfish Pokémon down the street. Cierra breathed in and out. This was where the fact that mudkip was small made a difference.  
"Dodge!" Kippy did. He leapt forward and over a bench. He ended up near a house.  
"Dead end!" Roran shouted triumphantly. Kippy spun around to see the fire still coming at him.  
"Are you crazy?!" Cierra shouted. Roran had no time to react. Kippy dodge and the fire hit the house. It burst into flame.  
"Mudkip! Water gun!"  
Mudkip turned back to the house and began dousing it with flames. In a few minutes, the fire was out.  
"Roran!" A middle age man pushed through the crowd and pointed at the blond.  
"Oh. Mr. Fishburn. H-How are you?" Roran stammered.  
"How many times have I told you not to battle on the clock, Roran? How many times."  
Roran muttered something under his breath.  
"No, Roran. This is the last straw. This is the seventh house you've lit on fire in so many weeks."  
"Yeah!" someone in the crowd shouted.  
"But Mr. Fishbu-"  
"NO, Roran. You're fired. Get out of the city."  
The crowd dispersed, most pausing to shout insults at Roran. He sighed and returned his Pokémon without a word. Then he turned to leave- but found Cierra in his path.  
"Where do you think you're going, Blondie?"  
"Leaving." Roran said, "You heard them."  
"What about our deal?"  
"What about it? No one won."  
"I think I win because of the simple fact I cleaned up you're mess!" Cierra snapped.  
"Nope. I'm leaving now. Bye!" Roran turned to leave, but not before Cierra grabbed his ear and pulled him along behind her.  
"I don't think so. Your charizard is big enough to get us all to Jublife and someone still owes me a surf HM."  
With that, she dragged him out of the city, Roran muttering vehemently all the while.


	3. Vs Finneon

_Hello again! And thank you for your continued interest in my story. :)_

_Once again, please let me know where to put my author's notes._

_Roran belongs to lovely shinypikachu2608 of Deviantart._

_Pokemon belongs to Nintendo (or something like that)._

The wilds of Sinnoh reared suddenly out of the darkness and took Cierra by such surprise that she almost let go of Roran's ear.  
The 12-year-old had never been away from her hometown. The outdoors had always consisted of the rocky sides of the island, the shimmering shallows, the trees growing from the sea, bleached white from the salt.  
This was nothing like her island home. A large field of green stretched until it met a thick patch of sea. Flowers dotted the grass and a large yellow tree was wafting a delicious scent in all directions. There was also a square of long grass a few feet away from a plot of berries.  
Cierra saw all of this as she and Roran walked to where the water began. She finally released the boy and then turned to him.  
"Well?"  
"Well…what?"  
"Get me to Jublife."  
Roran looked at the water. He looked at Cierra. He looked back and forth several times. Then he gave her a sheepish smile.  
"I don't actually have a surf HM."  
"No freaking duh."  
"If you knew that, why'd I have to come with you?!"  
"A deal is a deal."  
"Charizard can't fly two people there!"  
Mudkip's head went back and forth as he watched the two trainers argue.  
"It's huge!"  
"She's not used to more weight than me!"  
"Oh, whatever."  
"And she's tired from the battle!"  
Cierra growled and then inhaled deeply. Roran was making her lose her cool. It was late and she was tired. She also needed to get Mudkip to a PokeCenter to treat his wounds, but Roran wasn't allowed back into Canaclave and if she left him there, Cierra was sure he would run.  
"What about your Capture Stylus?"  
"My what?"  
"Don't play dumb with me. You're a Ranger!"  
Roran looked down and twiddled with the device on his belt.  
"Well, I'm not really…supposed to…use it."  
"Why?" Roran's face went blank.  
"Classified."  
"You are infuriating. You wouldn't have it if you didn't use it on a regular basis. So round us up a gyarados or something and get us to the other side!"  
Roran made a pouty face and muttered some more under his breath.  
"You really should stop talking to yourself. People will think you're crazy."  
Roran glared at her, but stopped speaking, unhooked the Capture Stylus, and crouched to get a better look into the dark water.  
Cierra kept her eyes on his back while she waited. As the seconds stretched into minutes, Mudkip seemed to grow more and more tired. Cierra returned him to his pokeball with a sigh.  
"Got some." Roran said quietly.  
"Some?" Cierra repeated.  
"Yeah, you can't get anything big enough to ride without a rod." He looked as if he was about to continue, but then waved his hand for silence. Since she didn't been the one talking, Cierra felt this was a bit unnecessary.  
Roran stood up and held his Capture Stylus at arm's length. Then he threw it out over the water and began to spin the part still in his hand.  
"Capture successful!"  
Cierra looked at the pokemon now milling around the shore. There were four of them, the same as the small fish that had sprayed Kippy in the face.  
"Uh…"  
"Step on them."  
"Excuse me?"  
Roran heaved a sigh, as if why she should step on the fish should be obvious.  
"You can't ride finneon, so you have to actually surf. Watch."  
Roran clipped his stylus back to his belt loop and edged towards the fish. Very carefully, he reached one foot out until it was on one of the finneon. Then he quickly played his other foot on another.  
Cierra didn't remark upon Roran's smirk, but instead removed her black and purple shoes. After shoving these into her matching messenger bag, she walked to the shore and mimicked Roran.  
"Read Mudkip Girl?" He didn't wait for a response. He gave a short shout and the finneon he was on shot off. Roran soon disappeared into the darkness. A split second later,. Cierra's own fish sped away.  
Her own flailing limbs contrasted obviously with the smoothly shifting shadow of Roran on the water a few feet ahead of her. Determined not to look bad, Cierra gritted her teeth and grabbed Kippy's pokeball.  
"I choose you!" She said, keeping hold of the capsule so she would not lose it in the waves. Kippy appeared, clinging to her head, "Help me steer!"  
"Mud!" Mudkip got a better grip on his trainer['s head and then stuck his tailfin out into the air. Cierra found it easier to balance and her arms started to calm down. After a few minutes, she reached the other side of the water. Her finneon chirped a couple of times and ducked back into the depths.  
"Hey, you used a pokemon. No fair, Mudkip Girl." Said Roran.  
"I don't remember you saying there were rules." Cierra answered, "And my name is Cierra, not Mudkip Girl. Now let's get going."  
"What?! I got you across the straight; I've kept up my end of the bargain. This is where I leave you."  
It was Cierra's turn to smile sarcastically.  
"No, the deal was that you would get me to Jublife. Since we aren't there yet, you're stuck with me."  
This statement caused more muttering on Roran's part. Cierra waited calmly for him to stop talking and then walked off toward Jublife without a second glance behind her. A few second later, Roran appeared at her side, just as Cierra knew he would.  
They passed through the checkpoint without any incident other than the guards' jokes about what the pair of them were doing out so late.  
A couple of steps outside the checkpoint, the short grass transformed into paved streets and the shrubs turned into towering brick buildings with signs that flashed in the shadows.  
Cierra's mouth popped open into a perfect "o". Never in her life had she seen a city as large as Jublife. Even at this late hour, there were people bustling about.  
"Kiiiip." Kippy yawned. The mudfish pokemon was still perched on Cierra's head. Cierra yawned, too, and turned to the blond beside her.  
"Let's go to the PokeCenter. You can leave in the morning."  
Roran just nodded mechanically. By the time they found the building and healed their pokemon, both trainers were too tired to argue anymore.


End file.
